The Daily Telegraph

Come enjoy our volcano ‘show’, minister urges tourists as lava destroys homes

- By James Badcock in Madrid

A SPANISH minister called on tourists to visit La Palma, a Canary Island where a volcanic eruption has forced more than 5,000 people from their homes, to enjoy “a wonderful show” as lava swallowed buildings on its way to the ocean.

The volcano began erupting on Sunday, with lava shooting 50 feet in the air before destroying around 100 houses.

Some 500 tourists at a resort on the west of La Palma were given the option of staying put or evacuation by boat to Tenerife. The majority chose to leave.

However, Reyes Maroto, the Spanish tourism minister, insisted the island was open to visitors. “There are no restrictio­ns on going to the island … on the contrary, we’re passing on the informatio­n so tourists know they can travel to the island and enjoy something unusual, see it for themselves,” she told Spanish radio.

Ms Maroto’s remarks led to criticism from Teodoro Garcia Egea, secretary general of the opposition People’s Party, who asked on Twitter: “Can someone confirm the minister said that while hundreds of people are losing everything they have?”

Residents who were allowed to stay in their homes were told to remain indoors and close their windows, as pockets of poisonous gas were released with the lava. No fatalities or injuries have been reported.

Flights to the area were suspended, before resuming yesterday morning.

Some travel companies had already seen a rise of interest by yesterday afternoon. Ignacio Liao, director of ferry company Fred Olsen, said: “Many users are calling to see if they can travel to La Palma or go for a weekend to see the volcano as close up as possible.”

“Just as many tourists want to leave, there is also a significan­t number of experts and scientists who are going to study the terrain as well as passengers who are simply interested in seeing the event,” Mr Liao added.

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